1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention lies within the gauge readout art. Such gauge readout art resides within pressure, depth and other gauges, wherein a certain pressure is transduced by mechanical movement means to provide an analog or digital readout to the user. In particular, this pressure readout means can be utilized for a diver's, firemen's or industrial worker's breathing gas tank to monitor the amount of pressure therein and the corresponding amount of gas for breathing purposes. It can also be used to monitor industrial fluid pressures, such as those encountered in the industrial and medical arts. Specifically, the pressure gauge readout is within the field of transducing a bourdon tube reading to provide an optical readout at a remote location through an electrical lighting means.
2. The Prior Art
The prior art as it relates to this invention, encompasses the utilization of various devices for transducing and/or conducting a pressure readout from a tank of gas or fluid. for instance, a tank of breathing gas is usually carried on one's back such as on a backpack. The tank of breathing gas usually incorporates a connection port having a yoke or connecting collar. The yoke or connecting collar is connected to a first stage regulator that generally reduces the pressure of the gas in the tank to a lower pressure. The gas when it is reduced to a lower pressure is then conducted by means of a tube to a second stage regulator which is utilized for demand breathing when a fireman, diver, or industrial worker breathes.
In effect, the second stage regulator or demand regulator operates to sense negative pressure upon inhalation, thereby valving the lower pressure as reduced from the first stage for breathing by a user through the second stage.
In order to monitor the pressure within the tank, it has been customary to specifically provide for a high pressure port at the tank connection means. This high pressure port generally had a line or conduit connected thereto in the form of a rubber hose or line. The rubber line terminated at a gauge means.
Generally, the gauge means was in the form of a bourdon tube type of gauge. In such bourdon tube type of gauges, a helical or arcuate tube was connected to the pressure within the line. The pressure expanded the gauge upon high pressure and caused it to collapse on lower pressures. The foregoing increase and decrease or concomitant movement of the bourdon tube was directly linked to a linkage which caused a dial to move in an analog manner to the amount of pressure within the tank.
It was found that the foregoing gauges, although sometimes sufficiently accurate, were not as accurate as they might very well have been, due to linkage problems with regard to the dial movement. More importantly, the utilization of a high pressure line from the high pressure port to a firemen's, industrial worker's, or diver's bodily area, created a dangerous situation if the line should break.
In particular, if a line broke, the high pressure would cause the line to move violently and possibly flagellate the user, or for that matter, cause the pressure gauge at the end to move so violently that it could dangerously beat the user.
In addition to the foregoing, the prior art did not provide for a suitable digital readout. The analog readout was such that it did not accommodate the user with appropriate information. Some types of readouts were not comprehensible, due to parallax problems and other orientations of the user with regard to the gauge and dial movement.
This particular invention overcomes many of the deficiencies of the prior art, as well as adding new features which are completely novel within the breathing gas readout and gauge art.
A major improvement of the invention is that it removes the danger of a high pressure line coming from the tank adjacent to a diver and terminating in a heavy object, such as a gauge, which can violently move and injure a diver upon breakage. The invention fundamentally places all the high pressure for introduction to the line and the fitting or connection directly on the tank. The fitting or connection, of course, is made of a metallic valve and connection structure that is superior to any rubber hose that it is connected to. Furthermore, the line or readout for the diver connected to the high pressure port, is a line that has absolutely no air pressure in it, but rather merely transmits a given optical signal.
In addition to the foregoing elimination of the high pressure line, the bourdon tube readout is in direct placement to the zone of high pressure. This was not available in the prior art. The zone of high pressure directly oriented with the bourdon tube, provides for a particular output that is directly analogous to the tank pressure, since it is connected directly thereto and not at a remote location through a line.
The bourdon tube is connected to a shutter which overlies a lighting means. The lighting means is in the form of light emitting diodes which are powered by a battery. The power requirements are extremely small in consideration of the overall effect. Overlying the shutter are a multiplicity of fiberoptic bundles that are arrayed in analogous relationship to the shutter movement. The shutter movement moves in direct correspondence to the bourdon tube to which it is connected, so as to overlie or move away from the lighting source that corresponds to low or high pressures.
The shutter movement which causes an increase or decrease in light, directly causes such amounts of light to be transmitted to each respective fiberoptic bundle which terminates in a readout.
The readout is provided with a plurality of terminal points for each fiberoptic bundle directly analogous to the amount of pressure in the tank. The pressure is calibrated by means of numbers on the readout end which correspond with the amount of pressure within the tank. This accordingly provides for a particular readout that is an analog of the pressure in the form of a lighted readout that can either be shown as numbers or a bar graph representative of the pressure in side by side relationship to the numeric display.
Accordingly, the pressure gauge of this invention is a dramatic improvement over the prior art through its elimination of the high pressure line. Furthermore, it provides for a direct readout of the bourdon tube in proximate relationship to the tank itself, as directly connected to the tank pressure.
The foregoing pressure causes a shutter movement of a shutter overlying a series of LED's which cause a light to be transmitted to a plurality of fiberoptic bundles in a greater or lesser amount, depending upon pressure. This light is then transmitted through an array of fiberoptic bundles to a line without any electrical connection, or any other type of requirement for transmitting the pressure to a pressure readout head.
In addition to the foregoing aspects, it should be understood that oftentimes high pressure areas, such as in an industrial operation, utilize gases and liquids wherein pressure has to be monitored. Monitoring such pressures either requires an electrical connection if the pressure is to be monitored in a remote location, or the pressure gauge itself must be in direct proximate location to the fluid pressure to be monitored.
It can be understood that when such high pressures are monitored in proximate relationship to the high pressure, that a dangerous situation exists for an industrial worker. Additionally, oftentimes, ambient conditions such as temperature and contaminants in industrial and nuclear processes do not provide the luxury of being able to monitor the output in direct proximate relationship to where the fluid pressure is.
This problem exists for industrial gas production, the storage of industrial gases, industrial fluid uses, whether they be hydraulic or other fluids, as well as different areas where dangerous conditions can exist for an industrial worker. Accordingly, this invention overcomes the foregoing problems by allowing the output movement of a bourdon tube to be directly transmitted by fiberoptic output to a remote location.
The pressure readout head is comprised of the fiberoptic bundles terminating in a light readout means in the form of a bar graph or a plurality of numbers lit in correspondence thereto. As a consequence, the entire device is a substantial improvement over the prior art and unique as to transmitting fluid pressure readings.